Pak intruders attack: Sonia says India will not be cowed down by 'deceit'

Closing ranks, Political parties bristled with outrage on Tuesday over the killing of five Indian soldiers by Pakistani intruders with Congress President Sonia Gandhi declaring that India could not be cowed down by such "blatant acts of deceit".

As the attack by the Pakistani attackers along the Line of Control(LoC) in Poonch district sparked anger both inside and outside Parliament, Union Minister and National Conferrence leader Farooq Abdullah said it will affect the normalisation of ties between the two nations.

BJP accused the UPA government of failure and demanded a response in the "same language" which Pakistan understands.

"It is a total failure of the government. Government should respond to Pakistan in the same language which Pakistan understands," BJP spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain said.

Giving vent to Congress' anger over "deceitful" killing of the five Indian soldiers by Pakistani intruders, Sonia and Rahul Gandhi demanded "appropriate" measures "at the highest level".

"Indian nation could not be cowed down by such blatant acts of deceit," Sonia said and urged the Government of India to take up appropriate measures.

Rahul, Congress Vice-President, urged the government for "steps" to be taken "at the highest level", party spokesperson Bhakta Charan Das told reporters.

BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad asked how many more brave Indian soldiers needed to be sacrificed.

"It will affect the normalisation of relationship. People of India will not want that our soldiers keep on dying and we keep on talking about friendship...Both cannot go on at the same time," Farooq Abdullah said.

Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah said these incidents don't help efforts to normalise or even improve relations with Pakistan and call into question Pakistan's government's recent overtures.

Das rejected BJP's criticism of "weak" handling of the issue by the government.

"BJP should not forget even before Kargil war happened. What was the compulsion," Das said in a veiled reference to then NDA prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's goodwill visit to Pakistan before the Kargil war.

Das, however, refused to comment on questions on whether after this incident, India will cancel its likely meeting with Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif at United Nations in September.

BJP leader Yashwant Sinha said his party was of the view that any talks with Pakistan should not be at the prime ministerial level in the wake of the attack.